Kindergarten Readiness Guide
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KINDERGARTEN READINESS GUIDE Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten? Checklist 1. Does your child know his/her first and last names?__ Phone number?__ Birthday?__ Address?__ Can your child write them? yes__ not at this time__ 2. Can your child tie his/her shoes?__ Zip?__ Snap?__ Button?__ Can he/she dress self to go outside?__ Dress self after using the bathroom?__ 3. Does your child know these colors? red__ brown__ pink__ purple__ green__ orange__ gold__ black__ white__ blue__ yellow__ tan__ 4. Does your child know these numbers? 0__ 1__ 2 __ 3__ 4__ 5__ 6__ 7__ 8__ 9__ 10__ 5. How high can your child count? not at all__ up to five__ up to ten__ up to twenty__ up to forty__ up to sixty or more__ 6. How many objects can your child count? 7. Can your child repeat a series of four numbers after hearing them once (example: 3-5-4-7)? yes__ not at this time__ 8. Can your child draw or copy a square? yes__ not at this time__ 9. Does your child know the names of the following shapes? circle__ square__ rectangle__ triangle__ diamond__ oval__ 10. Can your child sing or recite the alphabet? yes__ not at this time__ 11. Check the alphabet letters your child recognizes. Please do them out of order, as they are listed. B__ E__ X__ F__ A__ O__ P__ C__ W__ Z__ D__ M__ G__ J__ N__ K__ H__ V__ I__ L__ Q__ S__ U__ R__ T__ Y__ Readiness Activities • Show your child how you use numbers: when you cook, tell time, and shop. • Write the numbers 1 - 9 on a piece of paper and encourage your child to point to the number as you both say it. • Take a “shape walk” and look for all of the shapes in your neighborhood. • While your child is dressing, discuss the color of the clothes your child is putting on. • Look around your house and see how many colors your child can name. • Find picture books without words. Ask your child to tell you the story based on what he/she sees. • Ask your child to tell you a story – write it down and let your child “read” it back to you. • Point out alphabet letters to your child as you read. • Have your child tell you what he/she would like to say to grandma or grandpa. Write down what your child says in a letter and have your child sign it. • Take turns telling part of a story: "Yesterday, I heard a strange noise in the backyard. I looked out and saw a…" Your child continues: "I saw a beautiful horse looking at me. Then it…" Now it's your turn again. Make the story as interesting as possible and add lots of excitement. • Give your child a few simple directions to follow: "Put your hands on your shoulders, smile and hop forward two steps." Once your child understands, you can add the "Simon Says" • Bath Math: Fill the tub with water and add plastic containers of different sizes (no glass, please). Pick up several containers and start asking questions: Which holds more water? How many cups of water will it take to fill this container? Social and Emotional Development • Consider enrolling your child in a preschool or an organized play group. • Take your child to a park or other place where you will find lots of children and encourage your child to play with the other children close to his/her own age. • Help your child to tell others how he/she is feeling and what he/she needs. • Help your child learn to use words – not force – when he/she is angry. • Encourage your child to share his/her toys with others • Try new things with your child (example: foods, games, books, travel, visit to the library, museum, etc.) • Expect your child to put things away when he/she is done with them. • Help your child make good decisions. • Allow your child to accept mistakes and learn from them. • Say “please” and “thank you” often, your child will, too. • Assist your child in playing fair by following rules and taking turns. • Ask questions that encourage more than a one-word answer. • Practice leaving your child with others (an evening out, at a friend’s house to play, etc.) If this is difficult, remind your child you will be back soon. You may also wish to leave a picture of you or a comfort object such as a stuffed animal or blanket for your child to love while you are gone. Remember that your child will cry for a very short time after you leave. Make your goodbye short and leave right away after telling your child goodbye. This is important for your child to learn before coming to kindergarten. Self-Help Skills Teach your child how to do the following: • Dress him/herself including buttoning, zipping, snapping, buckling, tying and lacing. • Help in choosing his/her clothes. • Establish a special spot for items your child will need at school the next day (example: backpack, lunch money). • Provide a special box or basket for any papers coming home from school. This way you won’t miss important messages! • Recognize body parts: hands, feet, arms, elbows, knees, etc. • Follow three directions in a row: for example, “Stand up, walk to the cupboard and bring the book inside the cupboard to me.” Expect your child to listen carefully and do exactly as you say. If your child has trouble at first with three directions, begin with two directions and work your way up to three. Motor Skills Gross Motor: • Take your child to play in a park. • Teach your child how to ride a tricycle or bicycle. • Encourage your child to play non-competitive sports if he/she is interested. • Provide opportunities for your child to play in wide-open spaces. • Demonstrate and encourage your child to run, skip, hop, gallop, balance on one foot and jump freely. • Give your child a jump rope and teach him/her how to use it. • Encourage your child to practice bouncing, throwing and catching a large rubber ball. Fine Motor: To develop small muscle control, allow your child to use the following: • Scissors • Pencils, pens and crayons • Paints and paintbrushes • Playdough • Beads and tweezers • Duplo and Lego blocks Help your child learn to recognize the numerals from 0 – 20. Point out the basic shapes: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, diamond, and oval. Help your child look for these shapes around the home. Teach your child the basic colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, black, purple, pink, gray, and white. Help your child look for these colors around your home. Ask questions that will help your child compare things: Which is biggest? Which is smallest? Help your child understand where things are. (The book is under the table. The cloud is over the house. The tree is between the garage and the house.) Play simple counting games. Some examples are given in the back of this book. Writing • Have materials in your home to encourage writing and drawing, (paper, markers, pens, crayons, colored pencils, sidewalk chalk). • Encourage your child to write in whatever way he/she is able. The writing won’t look like grown-up writing at first, and your child will need lots of praise while he/she is learning. • Reversing letters and numerals are common and normal at this age. Children at this age are much more concerned with how the letter looks overall rather than how it’s placed on the paper. • Teach your child to write his/her first name. The first letter of the name capitalized and the rest of the letters in lowercase. • Make sure your child is holding the pencil comfortably in the hand of choice. Language Language is the key to learning. You can help your child develop language by doing the following. • As you take a walk, talk about things you see. • While traveling in the car, point out interesting things. • Buy or make hand puppets. Help your child put on a puppet show. • Talk about familiar items in your home to help children learn that things have names. Make labels to show that the names can be written down as words. • Limit your child’s TV viewing. Children who are watching television are not playing outside, thinking, or being creative. When possible, watch television with your child. Talk about what you’ve just seen. • Help your child to say his/her first and last names, as well as your phone number. Reading • Read to your child nightly for 10 to 15 minutes. Show your child how to read from left to right and top to bottom. You can do this by moving your fingers under the words as you read to your child. • Encourage your child to read the words in the world around him/her (stop signs, restaurant signs etc.). • Teach the alphabet song (make sure they’re singing the alphabet clearly; “lmnop” is not one letter). • Help your child recognize all letters, uppercase and lowercase. With the recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards, we ask that you please familiarize yourself with these academic standards for the Kindergarten level. More information can be found under the Common Core State Standards link. st 1 DAY OF SCHOOL / KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION First day of school / Kindergarten Orientation will be September 5, 2017. This is a very important date for incoming kindergartners and their parents. This will be a great opportunity to meet the classroom teacher, learn about procedures, schedules, busing, lunches and many other important kindergarten issues.